Glasgow Cathedral Festival - Dunedin Consort

Castle Street, Glasgow

The richness of five-part instrumental writing was not new to the 18th century: German, Italian and French composers had all exploited its sonority for decades. But it was Georg Muffatt, born in Savoy of Scottish parentage, who for the first time reconciled these styles into a single genre. His music, remarkable in its expressive range, combines the sophistication and rhythmic poise of the French, the vibrancy and colour of the Italians and the depth and richness of the Germans.
Pairing Muffat’s exquisite five-part sonatas with works by Biber and Schmelzer, both ground-breaking in their intricate, pictorial detail, Dunedin Consort celebrate the first tranche of composers to truly push the boundaries of technical mastery on the violin.